Man who shot wife from back of Uber charged with murder

A man accused of shooting his wife from the backseat of an Uber in Queen Anne early Sunday was charged with second-degree murder Thursday.

31-year-old Cameron John Espitia and his wife, Jennifer, were picked up in an Uber just after midnight Sunday.

During the Uber trip, the driver heard a loud boom, at first thinking it was a popped tire, probable cause documents said.

But the driver looked to the passenger seat, where the suspect's wife's head was bent forward and she was not moving.

The driver was afraid he'd be shot next, but he asked the man, still in the backseat, where he'd like to be taken. The man told him to "just drive," documents said.

Eventually, the man told the driver to stop and he exited the car near 2nd Avenue West and West McGraw Place. That's where the driver called police.

Charging documents released Thursday said Cameron Espitia "consumed numerous alcoholic drinks and argued with his wife when she wanted to go home instead of proceeding to the after-party" of a wedding the couple attended.

Espitia never called 911 or asked the driver to call for help, documents said.

He is a U.S. Coast Guard employee and his family lives in California. Seattle Police records said Cameron Espitia has several firearms registered to him.

When Seattle Police made contact with him early Sunday morning, he told them he wasn't having a good night with his wife and they found a small semi-automatic pistol in his ankle holster.

The suspect told police he drank alcohol and didn't remember what happened from the time he and his wife were looking for transportation and waking up in some bushes, not knowing where he was.

He did say he slightly remembered being in a white SUV, which was similar to the Uber that they rode in, documents said.

Jennifer Espitia was taken to Harborview Medical Center Sunday morning, where she later died.

Cameron Espitia remains in jail. A judge set bail at $3 million. He isn't allowed to make contact with the Uber driver or Jennifer Espitia's family. The judge also ordered Espitia to not possess weapons or firearms or consume alcohol.